This Week

Washington Watch

Positive Development

Jewish leaders find much to like in
president's vision for Mideast.

JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent

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6/28
2002

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t was hardly a surprise that a
broad spectrum of Jewish lead-
ers praised President George W.
Bush's new vision for Mideast
peace; most of them could have writ-
ten it.
The June 24 speech, which called
for "new leadership" for the
Palestinians, stunned Jewish leaders
who had awaited it with trepidation
based on leaks suggesting the adminis-
tration would seek to move quickly
toward provisional Palestinian state-
hood.
"It was a welcome and fair vision of
the future of the Middle East," said
Abraham Foxman, national director
of the Anti-Defamation League.
"None of the anxieties that some of us
had were realized. I believe the
American Jewish community will
overwhelmingly welcome this presi-
dent's vision of the future."
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice
chair of the Conference of Presidents
of Major American Jewish
Organizations, said Bush's plan pro-
vides "a very realistic blueprint that
could lead to a meaningful process. It
establishes preconditions based on the
historical fact that democracies don't
,,
r with one another.
go to waN
Hoenlein rejected complaints from
some right-of-center groups based on
Bush's call for an eventual end to the
Israeli "occupation" and for a freeze
on settlements.
But Hoenlein also said that the
devil will be in the details as the
administration fleshes out Monday's
outline.
"The key is how this vision is
implemented," he said. "The impor-
tant thing will be getting the EU
[European Union], the Russians and
the Arab states to work with the
administration and to push the
Palestinians."
That will be a tall order. Despite
widespread unhappiness with Arafat,
few observers expect Arab and
Muslim governments to openly sup-
port the U.S. effort to bring down
the curtain on the Arafat era.
A senior administration official,
briefing reporters after Monday's
speech, ducked the question of

whether Arab allies were on board.
"The partners, I think, understand
our position, and they certainly want
a change in the circumstances in the
Middle East," the official said.
The success of the speech will
depend on intensified U.S. media-
tion, said Steven Spiegel, a UCLA
political professor and chair of the
Israel Policy Forum's Washington
Policy Center.
- "If the administration is really com-
mitted to working with the
Palestinians to have new leadership,
and with the Israelis to react in a pos-
itive manner, then we have a shot at
having a real peace process," he said.
"If it's just another speech, we're in
real trouble."
Most Jewish leaders expressed sur-
prised pleasure at the speech.
During a conference call of commu-
nity leaders around the country, "the
mood was almost euphoric," said an
official with one major Jewish group.
"It was almost as if the president was
reading from our talking points."
"The president struck just the right
note," said David Harris, executive
director of the American Jewish
Committee. "The clarity in saying
that the Palestinians must find new
leadership was remarkable."
For those who thought a provision-
al Palestinian state would be quick
and perhaps effortless, there was an
element of comeuppance in the
speech; the president made it very
clear there would be a series of
benchmarks the Palestinians would
have to meet."
Pro-Israel members of Congress
mostly praised the speech and its
emphasis on Arafat's removal.
"I applaud the president's speech
and strongly support his vision for
the Middle East," said Rep. Tom
Lantos, D-Calif. "In calling for new
Palestinian leadership and democratic
reforms, the president announced the
end of the Arafat era. The European
Union and the Arab world must now
join us to achieve this vision."
"I support the president's call for a
new and different Palestinian leader-
ship — one that will create political
institutions based on democracy and
a genuine commitment to fight
against terrorism," said Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. ❑

